


Hold On

by Lynnyburd



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, Spoilers, blood warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:17:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8831869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynnyburd/pseuds/Lynnyburd
Summary: A happier ending to the Eye for an Eye mission as requested by someone on Tumblr.Warning; contains spoilers for the end of the game and every mission before it including Eye for an Eye.





	

Nothing about the motorcycle Marcus had stolen seemed to be good enough. Why couldn’t it handle going over a hundred on the interstate without vibrating? Why was it not faster than a hundred? Why was it that the closer he got the further he seemed to be?  As much pressure as Marcus was used to handling this was something far more urgent than he was used to. Things hadn’t gotten this bad, not yet, even when Wrench was taken they could see he was safe but this time-  
  
“You need to slow down Marcus,” The radio crackled to life in Marcus’ ear. The concern was dripping from Sitara’s voice and yet he couldn’t bring himself to follow her advice. Instead he tried to ignore she had even spoken focusing on weaving around some traffic he had come up on. As much as he knew he needed to slow down the surveillance image replaying on his mind kept urging him to only speed faster.  
  
When Horatio had gone silent he hadn’t expected it to be anything serious. He had wanted to pin it on Nudle making him go on some stupid no cell phone weekend excursion. That had happened before at least according to Sitara so Marcus had hoped that was it. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind he had been wrong long before he even made it to the park. There they had found Horatio’s phone and with Josh’s help he had seen exactly what had happened to the person Marcus called his brother.  
  
The look of panic that had formed on Horatio’s face kept eating at Marcus urging him to speed the bike faster. To not consider his own life because that video made it clear one of theirs could be on the line. When Wrench’s mask had gotten taken he had told Sitara, ‘When one of ours needs something, we get it.’ That feeling was only multiplied now and Marcus had no urge to swallow the anger that was filling him. Horatio needed him and if he let him down Marcus wasn’t sure if he’d ever come out of it the same.  
  
By the time, he reached the location of the person Josh had pulled up that same sense of unease returned. How long had Horatio been with them? How valuable was he to these people to keep him alive for more than an hour or two? Reaching back he fumbled under his shirt for the gun he kept pressed against his back. The cool metal soothed him in some sick way as he approached the door. Pressing his shoulder against it he tried to collect himself giving himself only a moment but it was one he knew would be vital to reacting to what was inside.  
  
Counting to ten was his normal mode of operation. If he went in straight on there were chances that he would have a delayed reaction. His anxious mind would get the better of him and he would create more causalities than what they already could have. No, his plan was he was going to count. Or he would have if he didn’t hear a yell of pain from beyond the wood of the door. The sound of it caused his blood to run cold and he slammed his shoulder into the door springing it open.  
  
It took a moment for him to take in the sight of what had been going on within the house. There were three men and a woman all standing side by side. They had been looking at something at the base of their feet but now they all turned to look at the door clearly being taken by surprise. Something was said, but it was lost to Marcus, his eyes having found what he was struggling to accept was Horatio. The sight of the scarlet blood under him awoke the very panic Marcus had been trying to control.  
  
Was he alive? How bad was his wound? Had he been shot or stabbed? Marcus would’ve rationally asked this question. Rationally he also would’ve ran out, got into cover and handled this while telling Josh to call the police. That was his normal method, rational and methodical. He would find solutions, take his time with infiltrations and weigh options. But he was also a man of justice and a man of family and this situation was far from normal. The man who he knew laying bleeding at these gangster’s feet was part of that family. And in that regard every bit of Marcus that would normally recoil from what he was about to do was silenced.  
  
Raising the gun he gave them no time to react before firing the first shot. It struck the man on the far left in the chest sending him sprawling against the carpet. He got off another shot before the woman even managed to remove her own gun from the waist band of her pants. That shot hit the man to her right in the eye. It was after those two that his brain urged him to move aware that his window of surprise had closed. He could see her gun being raised and as much as he wanted to finish take one more of the _motherfuckers_ down instead he rolled to the side behind the couch ducking as a bullet whizzed over his head.  
  
His anger was getting the better of him and he knew that by the time this was over he’d regret it. But he’d be alive, Horatio would be alive and these _fuckers_ wouldn’t be. Somewhere under the frantic yelling of the female to her male counterpart he could hear a terrible wheezing sound. The realization of who was making that sound only added to the hatred that curled through Marcus. They would pay, one way or another, they would. No one fucked with Ded-  
  
Those thoughts were cut off as he saw a foot step into view and he cursed himself for not keeping his head. Firing again, his first shot missed but his second hit the middle of the person’s foot, causing them to cry out and fall back. Turning his head, he barely caught the glint of a weapon before scrambling back. The gun went off and hit the spot where he had just been but its shooter, the woman, also seemed to be too far out of her head to concentrate on what she was doing.  
  
His next shot caught her in the stomach and she fell he fired another that caught her in the side of the throat. The noises she made grated at him, the feeling of remorse was already there, but he buried it training his last shot and catching the man who was clinging to his foot in pain in the head. For a moment he stood in awed silence to the destruction he had created. The various dying or dead that lay near him made something in his chest ache. Something he’d figure out later- he’d deal with it later- his friends came first.  
  
Running over to Horatio he dropped to his knees next to him, placing his gun at his side, his hands fumbling with the bottom of Horatio’s shirt. He could see the panic in those green eyes as they struggled to follow Marcus, for a moment he tried to speak, but the words didn’t come out right. It was some kind of frantic and pained gurgling noise and that told Marcus there was some kind of internal bleeding.  
  
Finding Horatio’s eyes he stripped out of his jacket pausing half way to grab his friend’s face as he tried to speak again. It was clear every attempt at breath was causing pain and if Horatio kept trying to speak? “Horatio man, hold on, I’m here, I’m here, hold on. Take it easy help is coming, help is on the way-“  
  
“Josh,” Marcus spoke now to the others the panic in his tone even scaring him. His fingers were shaking as he fumbled with Horatio’s shirt that was now wet with blood. Finally exposing the wound he let out a small noise of distress taking in the sight of it. It had be near Horatio’s lung if not having punctured it. Pressing the jacket against the wound he shh’d the other man as he yelled out in pain from the pressure being applied. “It’s okay Horatio, I got this, shh I have this. Call 9-1-1 Josh, call them, _fuck please_.”  
  
There was frantic yelling on the other end. Sitara yelled for him to get out of there, he had just shot four Tezcas in Tezca territory. But her words fell on deaf ears, even Wrench who was urging for him to ‘ _get the fuck out’_ was ignored. The only words from three he card about were Josh’s stating that help was on the way. Glancing back at Horatio he went to touch the male’s face again to try to bring him back out of a haze Marcus saw him slipping into when he noticed his fingers were soaked with blood.  
  
Pulling his hand back as if he had been burned he returned it to the jacket. Pressing harder now trying to ignore that he could see his friend’s lips changing colors. His vision blurred and he cursed as his tears hit his glasses obstructing his view. “Fuck- FUCK,” Marcus couldn’t stop himself from yelling as all of the frustration and rage came to a head.  
  
Any moment he worried that he was going to have to wash his friend fade out from under him. Glancing back frequently Marcus swore he’d look and those eyes would be glassy. They wouldn’t get to have any more jokes about feeling out of place, they wouldn’t get to see DedSec rise in the ranks and the realization that they could take down Blume without Horatio hit Marcus harder than he felt like he could bear. _No he has to be there, he has to be-_  
  
There was yelling outside. Marcus couldn’t pick up what they were saying, not with the panic coursing through him. There were no sirens yet and something told him that it was the other members of the Tezcas having heard the gunfire. If they came in here he knew he’d be overwhelmed and Horatio? Horatio wouldn’t be able to be saved.  
  
Something inside of him twisted at the thought of leaving him but he grabbed Horatio’s hand. The force of his touch was enough to bring those green eyes back on him. “I am going to get them away from you and Josh is going to get you help. You’re gonna make it man and we are going to watch this fucking world burn. Just hang on for me okay? Hang on.”  
  
Releasing his hand Marcus stood, wrapping his hand around his gun, and backing out towards the door. He took one moment to look over the carnage in the room his stomach churning at the sight of what he had done. But what his eyes lingered on the longest were Horatio’s as they followed him out. The panic that was held in them only made it harder to turn around and step into the light.  
  
There had been a group of around six or seven men all armed with assault rifles who froze at the sight of Marcus. Marcus who had splotches of blood all over his clothes and had a pistol gripped in his still bloody hand. It didn’t take them long to put together the pieces of what had probably occurred in the house but their hesitation cost them. Pressing the execute key on his phone with his free hand that he had slipped into his pocket.  
  
The underground steam pipe exploded from behind the largest group of the men sending them sprawling. And in the chaos Marcus took the chance to climb onto his bike, starting the engine and getting away just as the first shots had started being fired at him. He paused around the corner waiting to hear the sound of cars being turned on before he kept moving. He’d keep them busy- he’d keep them away from Horatio. Horatio would make it, he’d have to.  
  
\----------------  
  
It had been too long. Marcus was sure of that as he stood in front of his bathroom mirror trying to wipe the blood from his hands. The chase had gone on for what seemed like forever until Josh told him they were in the clear. An ambulance had made it to Horatio and Marcus had been forced to sit and listen as Josh tried to decipher the paramedics transmissions. The radio hadn’t been clear but the group had picked up enough to know he was going to need emergency surgery. If he had even made it that far.  
  
Kicking himself for getting lost in the thoughts of if, Marcus focused on stripping his clothes taking in the sight of them and the blood that had splattered on them. Blood of people who were also now lost to their families. _Ours over theirs,_ He told himself as he tossed them into a pile to be dealt with later. Whatever crime was going to be investigated coming out of this he was sure DedSec could find a work around.  
  
If they all just had each other.  
  
\----------  
  
The next week had been one of the hardest weeks of Marcus’ life. Horatio had fluctuated between stable and intensive. His wound at one point had even gone septic and that was the night that all of DedSec had crowded in a small hospital waiting room to see if he would make it through the night. When they finally had been informed at around five in the morning that his condition had leveled they had just passed around exhausted hugs. The excitement was timid as the fear he could slip again stayed prevalent with them.  
  
It was a memory that none of them seemed to recover from after that night. Even as they pressed on with their war against Blume it seemed to weigh on every decision they made. Even in the wake of their victories against the Shu’s, Haum and the Tezcas they all felt mute with one of their own still fighting a battle that none of them could help.  
  
Often Marcus would swing by and catch Horatio on the rare day his eyes were open. He still couldn’t speak not with the medication he was on but he’d listen. Even with the haze of the drugs in his system there was still a light that shone in his eyes as he listened to Marcus talk about how close they were to taking down Dusan himself. And even on the days Horatio wasn’t awake he’d still sit and tell him that they were going to change the world.  
  
They had all sacrificed too much to go back now.

  
\---------  
  
Dusan had been arrested. Ray and Marcus had personally watched as the cops stormed the building then returned to headquarters to tell the others. The five of them toasted each drinking a beer, or a soda in Josh’s case, to their victory. Even as the others cheered Marcus found his mind back on their friend who still sat in a hospital. He wondered if Horatio even knew yet what had happened.  
  
“This is nice and all,” Marcus had been the one to say when his was half done. “But we gotta go give credit to the one person who isn’t with us.”  
  
His words had gotten a yell out of Wrench who exclaimed he was going to get the car. Those words caused Josh to chase out of after him clearly not trusting whatever Wrench had planned.  
  
“Horatio is going to lose his damn mind when he hears this,” T-Bone raised his glass to Marcus and they clinked theirs together before he followed suit.  
  
It just left Sitara who watched Marcus carefully as he finished his beer and set it down. Rising to follow the others he paused when Sitara’s fingers curled around his arm. His eyes moved to hers watching as her own read every emotion on his face. Concern was what he saw in them. Even in the wake of their victory Sitara was still being the mom of the group.  
  
“Thank you,” Her words seemed out of place with the worry that he could tell was filling her. “For saving him. We haven’t had the chance yet to do it but I need to thank you. You had just joined us not that long ago and you saved one of ours.”  
  
Marcus paused placing his hand over her’s giving it a squeeze before he grinned. “This is my family now Sitara and I don’t leave anyone behind. Especially one of our own.”  
  
His own words stayed with him on the entire noisy ride to the hospital. Ray was yelling at Wrench who was yelling at Josh about his driving. It was all in good fun and even Marcus didn’t feel like breaking it up. Sitara didn’t bother either just letting a smile just stay on her lips the entire drive.  
  
The group argued up until they entered Horatio’s room before falling silent at the sight of their operations manager sitting up in bed. There were still various tubes leaving his hospital gown but he was more awake than they had seen him since before the attack. The excitement of seeing him awake was only made better by the tired smile on the male’s face. The television which was flashing the news of Dusan’s arrest was any indication, Marcus knew why he had it.  
  
The rare quiet moment was broken by Wrench yelling out in surprise bounding across the room to hug Horatio. Sitara managed to catch him by the arm before he could get close enough to cause any damage. “Calm down Wrench,” She rolled her eyes before crossing over to sink down next to Horatio and touch his shoulder. “You’re looking good.”  
  
Horatio’s hand found hers and he gently patted it nodding his head towards the tv. “No,” He croaked. “That’s what looks good.”  
  
“It’s all because of you man,” Marcus couldn’t stop himself from talking as he crossed the room kneeling next to his friend. “You never gave us up.”  
  
“Even if it would’ve been damn easy to,” It was Ray who spoke this time from where he awkwardly stood by the door watching the reunion he felt like he had no part in.  
  
“I paid for it,” Came Horatio’s tired response his other arm patting lightly at where he had been bandaged. “Tell me you brought beer.”  
  
“Nope,” Wrench’s voice was loud, far too loud for such a small hospital room, but he didn’t seem to care. Dropping to his knees to kneel next to Horatio’s bed his eyes flickering to hearts. “We brought you a better celebration.”  
  
Horatio seemed to realize that they meant themselves and he began to laugh. Something he instantly regretted and had to sink back trying to compose himself and ease off the pain. He was almost in the clear and he had no urge to go back to the level of pain he had been at before. Blinking at his friends he shook his head so they wouldn’t grow concerned before his eyes found Marcus’.  
  
“Thank you,” He murmured his free hand finding Marcus’ the two of them doing a small fist bump of sorts before he let it drop. “You saved me and the world.”  
  
There was a small shake of his head from Marcus as he nodded his head to each person in the room. “It wasn’t me, it was all of us. None of us could’ve done this alone or without you man. _We_ saved the world.”  
  
“Still saved me,” Came Horatio’s whisper of a sarcastic answer before waving his hand at Marcus turning back to the others. “Enough with Marcus being a lame ass let’s celebrate.”  
  
Rolling his eyes Marcus turned back to the television thankful that for once everything had gone right. San Francisco was as free as the people allowed it to be and Horatio was one person who deserved to see it that way. Even if it meant the blood was on his hands he’d take it any day to be surrounded by the people who were turning a hospital room into a party.  
Out of the thousands of things that could’ve happened Marcus was thankful that this was the one that did.  

**Author's Note:**

> Yesterday browsing on Tumblr I saw baby-prince-oppa mention wanting to read what would've happened if Horatio had lived. With as much as I have Marcus suffering over his death in my other fic I wanted to write it bad.  
> Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this little one off! Please feel free to leave comments and criticisms!  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
